The awards are the Countryside Alliance’s annual celebration of rural produce, skills, enterprise and heritage through small hard-working businesses.

Now in their ninth year, the awards run across four categories: local food, village shop/post office, butcher and start-up.

Dini Frost, owner of Middleton Post Office Tea Parlour, said: “We were nominated last year for the start-up award and this year for the village shop/post office award by the customers.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the fact it isn’t just North Yorkshire, but the whole of Yorkshire.

“We are grateful for all the customers who nominated us and proud to be one of the four finalists in the region of Yorkshire. We are looking forward to the competition representatives visiting the business and interviewing us.”

The awards received 3,500 nominations, with each area having its own judges to determine a regional winner. The final will be held in April.